Graduate Study Expo

Inform and shape the future with a Master of Journalism.

Master of Journalism

Help to inform and shape the future with a career in the innovative world of contemporary journalism.

This cutting-edge course, taught by renowned industry experts in Monash University’s groundbreaking new Media Lab, will prepare you for a dynamic career as a multifaceted journalist in the contemporary digital age.

Technology has transformed the traditional model of mainstream media – opening up the most exciting opportunities for story telling in the history of journalism. As a journalist today, you will find yourself at the edge of a golden age where all modes of media can be combined to tell your story to wider audiences than ever before.

International relevance and practical experience

As a student in Monash’s Master of Journalism program, you will have the opportunity to engage with industry and participate in study tours and field schools both in Australia and overseas.

Research-led Teaching

Journalism is multi-disciplinary and the Monash staff are active researchers in a range of fields.

Masters coordinator Dr Deb Anderson will publish a book later this year on the lived experience of drought in the Mallee region of Victoria (Endurance, CSIRO Publishing, forthcoming 2014).

Bill Birnbauer is preparing a book on the future of investigative journalism. Dr Fay Anderson is preparing a book on the history of the Australian reporting of the Holocaust.

All of the staff are research active in their own fields of interest and their expertise as researchers influences the curriculum and their teaching in profound ways to the benefit of students.

Industry Engagement

We have strong relationships with the media industry, in many cases stemming from the senior editorial backgrounds of key staff. Our program offers internship opportunities in a wide range of media outlets, from mainstream newspapers to niche websites specialising in areas such as politics, arts or fashion. Internships provide real-world experience that is important for students’ career development.

Even more valuable are the publishing opportunities provided through our industry links. Our industry opportunities are soon to be augmented by a modernisation of our Journalism facilities costing almost $2 million. The new hub will include a student lounge, as well as state-of-the-art production facilities for video, audio and online, modelled on the best industry has to offer.

International Opportunities

The Monash Journalism program is deeply collaborative. We have links with Research Institutes and Centres for Investigative Journalism in the USA, including the Center for Investigative Reporting in San Francisco and the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, DC. We have continuing links for student and staff exchanges with European universities.

We are also prominent participants in the Australian Consortium for In-country Indonesian Studies (ACICIS) program. This program gives students the opportunity to gain experience in professional media outlets in Indonesia.

We are offering a field trip to New York and Washington from 2015 to spend time at outlets such as the New York Times, Buzzfeed, CNN and other new and established journalism outlets. Students will also spend time on Capitol Hill.

Student Publishing

It is important for students to strive to publish their work. The more you publish, the better your CV will look when you come to find a job. At Monash, we provide mojo, Dangerous Ground and Melbourne Tribune to make your journalism available to the public.

We also help and encourage you to publish in mainstream media. Several students who won major national awards in recent years had their work published in big outlets, such as The Age, Herald Sun ​and the ABC, well before we talked them through how to apply for Walkley and Melbourne Press Club recognition.

Higher Research

We have a strong doctoral research program involving both a coursework component and thesis; the thesis can be produced as either the traditional scholarly monograph or as a substantial piece of original journalistic research, such as a book. We encourage innovative approaches to journalism.

Our staff welcome enquiries about doctoral supervision in their particular areas of research interest and expertise and, for general information about the doctoral program, you can contact Associate Professor Fay Anderson

How to study

To expand your skills in two key areas, students have the option of studying a double masters program. While studying in a Master of Journalism, you can also complete a Master of International Relations. Learn more

Monash also offers a Double Masters with Warwick University‘s Politics and International Studies Department. This new double degree allows you to undertake a Master of Journalism with Monash, and a second Masters degree with Warwick’s Politics and International Studies Department. The degree is available to both Warwick and Monash students.

Our postgraduate courses are designed to meet the needs of students who have recently finished their degrees, individuals entering the industry for the first time or current industry professionals looking at furthering their career opportunities.

What our alumni think

I found the best thing for me, and for other students studying the degree, is to talk to them.

I think Monash University helped me to become a working journalist because it has lots of great teachers who are willing to help you.

Meet our academic teaching staff

Dr Anderson is coordinator of the Journalism master’s program and teaches the core unit Journalism in Society. Deb’s journalism career before joining Monash was as a features writer and sub-editor at The Age in Melbourne and Sydney Morning Herald. She also had extensive journalism and production experience both in Australia and abroad.

Associate Professor Johan Lidberg is the journalism section research coordinator and deputy head of journalism. His main research areas are Freedom of Information, access to information, reporting climate change and media accountability. He is also a member of the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub.

Margaret Simons is an award-winning journalist with extensive experience in journalism research and teaching. She was the founding chair and remains a board member of the Public Interest Journalism Foundation, which was established in 2009 at the Swinburne Institute for Social Research to promote and enable innovation in public interest journalism.

Stephanie Brookes is Lecturer in Journalism in the School of Media, Film and Journalism, where she teaches journalism studies. Her research interests lie at the intersection of media and politics, with a particular focus on election campaign coverage and communication, national identity and belonging.